Kids on mediterranean cruises

[musnbny]

We have been on a couple Disney cruises with my children (Wonder and Dream) as well as one NCL cruise (Star) and they had enjoyable times with plenty to do.

 

Our daughters will be 8 and 9 years old next year. We are thinking about an Eastern Med cruise and really don't see too many reviews specifically regarding children on these cruises and in the typical ports of call.

 

I'm not sure how much joy my kids will have looking at Roman ruins for example and it seems like Celebrity doesn't have a water slide, etc. I know certain cruise lines are more kid friendly and I wondered if anyone had any insight on which line/ship would be the best for me to do. They are well behaved kids, but they are still kids and not sure they have tolerance for sitting on a bus for a long period of time. Thinking about private tours in the various ports to get around some of that, but I'm really looking for information about which cruises to try from families who might have done the eastern med itineraries. Thanks!

[chipmaster]

Welcome to CC,

 

Some cruise / vacations kids will enjoy a lot, some are learning and educational and less pure fun. IMHO a med / port - history cruise is more the second kind of cruise.

 

My children were 8, 12 and 14 at the time of our 12 day 10 port cruise. We went during the peak of summer, it was a cruise full of kids, clubs had plenty of kids. A sidebar, there were lots of foreign kids, I'd say almost 1/2 spoke something other than english. My oldest and youngest enjoyed the club, pool, and activities regardless.

 

No question this is a cruise more for the adults and about cultural history. All my kids tired a bit of the touring of ruins, churches and such, but there were also many highlights and memories they came home with that are timeless and hopefully will carry with them for the rest of their life.

 

I think you don't have your priorities right on this one. Pick a the ship/cruise that hits the ports you like. Don't get swung by Disney or a ship with our w/o a water slide. I thought long and hard during my planning of picking RCL for their better amenties, I'm very happy now I prioritize ports over ship. All my memories and special moments are of the port! If it is a main stream line there will be kids, kids club and enough activities to keep them entertained. If your kids are the priority a trip to Orlando might be better :D.

 

You have the right thinking that in port go private. We did this and it made the trip/cruise and memories!

 

Happy planning

 

 

We have been on a couple Disney cruises with my children (Wonder and Dream) as well as one NCL cruise (Star) and they had enjoyable times with plenty to do.

 

Our daughters will be 8 and 9 years old next year. We are thinking about an Eastern Med cruise and really don't see too many reviews specifically regarding children on these cruises and in the typical ports of call.

 

I'm not sure how much joy my kids will have looking at Roman ruins for example and it seems like Celebrity doesn't have a water slide, etc. I know certain cruise lines are more kid friendly and I wondered if anyone had any insight on which line/ship would be the best for me to do. They are well behaved kids, but they are still kids and not sure they have tolerance for sitting on a bus for a long period of time. Thinking about private tours in the various ports to get around some of that, but I'm really looking for information about which cruises to try from families who might have done the eastern med itineraries. Thanks!

[Kerry's Girls]

On a port intensive cruise, the amenities on board matter much less. I agree with the previous poster - choose based on the ports you want to see, budget, etc. Private tours are the way to go - you choose the itinerary and pace and can adjust as you go based on what you want to do. The ironic thing I found was that a private tour was always less expensive than one of the large ship tours, but without the museum and "factory" shopping stops that are so boring to kids.

 

There are lots of us on the family board who have done Med cruises, and I found TONS of information on what to see with kids by visiting the ports of call boards here. People had great suggestions on sights, guides, itineraries, etc. specific to my kids' ages/interests.

 

Best,

Mia

[boulders]

I cruised on DCL's Magic last year with my 3 kids, aged 4-14. I had never been, so the lineup of Florence, Rome and Naples was good enough for me. We also got an amazing deal. The price was the deciding factor.

 

Not once did they use the water slide. I don't think they even went in the pool. We were too busy.

 

We used private guides in Rome and Naples. We used romeinlimo.com for both. Private tours are definitely the way to go. My 4 year old loved climbing over the ruins in Pompeii. Everyone had a great time.

 

If I were to go again, I'd either go with, in no particular order, the Princess Grand Med sailing or one of the Solstice class Celebrity ships. Itinerary and price would be the deciding factors.

[Essiesmom]

It sounds like this is a cruise YOU would like to do, but you know it is not the one for your kids. So, maybe you should look at a different itinerary until the kids are older. Consider the Baltic...not as hot, fewer old churches and ruins...and some great museums in Oslo (Viking ship) and Stockholm (Vasa museum).

I need a commission for this, I have recommended it so often in the last couple of weeks - Rick Steves has a brand new travel book out, Mediterranean Cruise Ports. It is a fat book covering almost all ports except Egypt, Israel, and North Africa. He hasa all sorts of suggestions for diy touring, where to eat cheap, how to do it. where the bathrooms are! You might pick one up and see if there are any things in the ports on your proposed cruise that would appeal to your children. EM

[Dayenu]

Greek Island will be interesting for chidren to visit, it would be a good time to teach them to use a map, to lead the way to or from whatever your internet search will find interesting.

 

For example, in Katakolon there is a mini-amusement park, horse carriage rides, "train" rides with a stop to stretch legs, museum of inventions - the girls are big enough to understand.

 

Venice with bridges and statues and water buses and gelato - even if they don't like museums, there is plenty to keep their attention.

[grand isle joe]

We were on RCL Spendour of the SEas a couple of years ago with our daughter who was 8yrs at the time. She had a wonderful time. There were not a large number of kids but there was "just enough" for the kids room to be on a first name basis with each other on board. The ratio was very small and the kids workers were the best we have found on any cruise ship (even Disney). Yes the ports were the focus of the cruise but the Eastern Europeans were overly attentive to our daughter and that really made it wonderful for us and our daughter. It still is our favorite cruise. Have a wonderful cruse.:)